336 



THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



IDAHO, THE GEM MOUNTAIN STATE. 



The American Falls Power, Light & Water Company and the 

 American Falls Canal & Power Company, Two 

 Large Irrigation Projects. 



E. W. HAKT. 



THE UPPEK SNAKE EIVEE VALLEY. 



Whatever may be said of the uncertainty attending 

 upon the investment of money in mining operations, 

 the comparatively virgin State of Idaho has already 

 yielded repeated demonstrations of the substantial re- 

 turns which can be realized from a small outlay of 

 capital in the cultivation of irrigated farms. The hus- 

 bandman in the Eastern States, weighed down by the 



are among the richest in the world, producing over 55 

 per cent of the lead in the United States. It has ex- 

 tensive deposits of copper and coal. In Owyhee Coun- 

 ty are some of the finest opal fields in the United States 

 and rubies are found in Latah County. In fact, the 

 mining industry is represented in almost every county 

 in the State, and is still in its infancy. The Thunder 

 Mountain district, once almost inacessible, is slowly 

 but surely taking rank as a steady gold-producing 

 camp. A company is already in the field building for 

 the future of this district, ready with power, electricity 

 and enterprise to meet every progressive demand 

 the Twentieth Century Mining & Power Company, Ltd., 

 with headquarters at Cleveland, Ohio. 



Although the tiller of the soil may not always be 

 willing to risk his hard-earned dollars in the mining in- 



Loading Beets for The Idado Beet Sugar Company's Factory, Idaho Falls. 



burden of the mortgage and never free from the acci- 

 dents of drouth, hot winds and inopportune storms, 

 knows of some one of his neighbors who has realized 

 what he could on his incumbered estate, gone to Idaho 

 and is reaping annually increasing reward for every 

 month of toil and thrift bestowed upon a faithful soil. 

 He who has not seized the opportunity himself, and 

 whose means will not afford the necessary start in life 

 for his sons in the midst of like conditions, is rejoiced 

 to learn that they have solved the problem in the arid 

 West to their entire satisfaction. This country no 

 longer stands in need of a recommendation with the 

 people as witness the 106,000 applications- which 

 awaited the opening of the Rosebud reservation more 

 than fifteen times as many as could possibly be ac- 

 commodated. 



At the same time it is well to note in passing that 

 the mineral deposits in this State undoubtedly reserve 

 untold wealth for the future a legacy which will de- 

 volve upon this young empire when it reaches its majori- 

 ty. Idaho has given the world $250,000,000 in gold 

 and silver since their discovery in 1863. Its lead mine? 



dustry, if he contemplates farming in this section he 

 is, nevertheless, very much interested in the proximity 

 of the mining camp. There is a growing market for 

 farm produce in the camps throughout Idaho, and 

 there are no better buyers than the miners; nowhere 

 else are prices so high. 



One hundred and sixty acres was once considered 

 an ordinary farm in Idaho, but since the completion of 

 the Idaho Beet Sugar Company's $1,000,000 factory 

 during the past year at Idaho Falls the farmer in 

 this section is growing rich from the products of a 

 20-acre field of sugar beets. This company has already 

 paid the farmers over $500,000 for their beets : has paid 

 out as much as $75,000 per month in wages, and has 

 a capacity of 12,000 to 16,000 bags of sugar per day 

 of 100 pounds each. It also creates a new market for 

 the hay which is used in its processes of manufacture. 

 Sugar beets yield the farmer from $80 to $100 per 

 acre. They find the soil in this valley best adapted 

 to their growth and are not injured by early frosts. 



The reader should bear in mind that Idaho is 

 still an undeveloped region not without some myste- 



